“At Planned Parenthood, medical abortion is extremely safe,” reproductive health researcher James Trussell of Princeton University in New Jersey, who worked on the study, told Reuters. “The most common adverse outcome is just continuing pregnancy,” he added. “It doesn’t work 100 percent of the time.”

The data showed that 385 women had a serious side effect of the 233,805 total abortions during the study period. This includes 238 who sought treatment at the ER, 135 who were admitted to the hospital, 114 who had a blood transfusion and 57 who required intravenous antibiotics. All of the women in the study survived.

A study from 2010 showed that less than one percent of women having a surgical abortion prior to their sixteenth week of pregnancy needed intravenous fluid. And only one in 300 had a major complication as a result of surgery [thus totaling thousands annually across America].

Eight women each year had an ectopic pregnancy - when the embryo implants outside the uterus - that was diagnosed after the attempted [medication-induced] abortion. One died from related complications.

. . . Dr. Debra Stulberg, who studies disparities in reproductive health at the University of Chicago and wasn't involved in the new study . . . told Reuters Health medical abortions are still less common than surgical ones in the U.S., but that they're becoming relatively more frequent and "women should be reassured" based on these and other data.

One limitation, the study team noted, is that not all women checked back after the abortion or had follow up medical records available - so it's possible more complications could have occurred that weren't recorded.

Medical abortions done at Planned Parenthood run for about $300 to $800, according to its website.

The study group consisted of two Planned Parenthood employees, one member of a Planned Parenthood advisory group, and a fourth member who receives financial compensation from Danco Laboratories, the U.S. distributor for the abortion pill mifepristone, also known as RU486.

“This is perhaps one of the most self-serving studies ever conducted,” said Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue. “These so-called researchers have a vested interest in protecting medication abortions because this is what they are banking on to expand abortion services and increase profits for Planned Parenthood, especially in a time when states are working at a fever pitch to defund them.”

In 2010, Operation Rescue uncovered Planned Parenthood’s secret strategy to expand their doctorless telemed abortion scheme to every Planned Parenthood office. Since then several states have outlawed the webcam distribution of abortion pills, and other have insisted that Planned Parenthood follow FDA protocols, which they currently ignore.

For the third time since Thanksgiving, the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic transported a woman to the hospital for emergency care, making it one of the most dangerous abortion clinics in the nation, according to officials with Operation Rescue, who informed LifeNews of the incident.

Mary Maschmeier of Defenders of the Unborn, a [St. Louis] local pro-life group that emailed both LifeNews and Operation Rescue about what happened, said “Her face was covered and we don’t know her condition. How sad it is to see this scene but especially the day after we celebrate the birth of Our Lord.”

The pro-life group says it has tried to follow up on the medical conditions of the women involved and the details of what happened during the failed abortion but it has been repeatedly denied access to 911 call records by St. Louis authorities, which could shed light on the rash of emergencies at Planned Parenthood. Such records are generally considered public documents.

The Planned Parenthood abortion business claims to be all about women and women’s health, but one leading pro-life activists says it has had to call for ambulances 10 times over the course of the last 20 months. And that’s just the number of times that have been documented.

This week, Operation Rescue reported that a woman is suing Planned Parenthood in Birmingham, Alabama for missing an ectopic pregnancy and doing an abortion procedure anyway that left her infertile.

“This was just one of probably hundreds of abortion botches we wouldn’t otherwise know about were there not a lawsuit,” says Operation Rescue staffer Cheryl Sullenger

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The new study, entitled ‘Christianophobia’ by the British think tank Civitas, shows that the vast majority of Christian populations in the Middle East in the 20th century have either fled or been killed. Whereas the Holy Land was 20% Christian in 1945, today that demographic is only 2%, and worldwide, 200 million Christians are “socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for their beliefs.”

“Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political priorities across large areas of the world. That this is not the case tells us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood.”-- Rupert Shortt, journalist and visiting fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford

The refusal of young Christians in the West to become “radicalised” and mount violent protests against the attacks on their faith also helps to explain the “blind spot” about “Christianophobia” in influential liberal Western circles.

[Christians] are more likely to be the target of discrimination or persecution that any other religious group and they are particularly at risk in Muslim-dominated societies. Oppression is magnified by anti-Americanism and the false belief that Christianity is a “Western” creed, even though it originated in the Middle East and has been an integral part of that region’s belief systems for 2000 years.

The pace of this assault is now intensifying with the rise of militant Islam in countries such as Egypt, Iraq and now, with the civil war, Syria.

The report surveys in detail the extent of Christian persecution in seven countries – Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria, Burma, China and India. And it cites findings from the Freedom House think-tank report to highlight the way that Muslim-majority countries are the most hostile to Christians.

While noting the large-scale persecution of Christians in societies that are Communist, Buddhist, or Hindu, [author of the report, Rupert] Shortt stressed the growing impact of intolerance in Islamic countries.

"In the large area between Morocco and Pakistan, for example, there is scarcely a country in which church life operates without restrictions. Syria has been one of the exceptions until now," wrote Shortt.

In the past, Civitas has published other works focusing on contemporary issues involving Islam. In 2006, the think tank published a book by Caroline Cox and John Marks titled The West, Islam and Islamism: Is ideological Islam compatible with liberal democracy?

"To this end we need to be able to conduct an open and mutually respectful dialogue," [a 2006 Civitas statement] said. "However, the situation is complicated by the way in which some defenders of Islam have tried to shut down the sort of full and free discussion which we expect in Western societies to be able to have about all systems of belief by accusing critics of 'Islamophobia'…"

Rupert Shortt, a journalist and author of the study, says that the removal of Christianity from the Middle East has been influenced by political upheaval, Israeli nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, and the rejection of Christianity as a vehicle for Western values or Western expansion, even though Christianity originated in the Middle East and has been integral to the region’s belief systems for 2000 years.

Shortt also points out that Christians and public authorities in the West have developed a “blind spot,” which has encouraged the discrimination or persecution of minority religious groups and could lead to further infringements of human rights. As Shortt explains, “The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom is the canary in the mine for human rights generally.”

Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Michigan Republican legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder have enacted new abortion clinic requirements to improve safety for mothers, but their unborn babies will still die at these "safer" clinics, although the law requires the "fetal remains" to be disposed of "properly and respectfully."

"Republicans should focus on the economy and job creation instead of extreme social policies that further divide our state."-- Rep. Tim Greimel, Incoming Michigan House Democrat Leader

The measure requires health facilities or clinics that perform more than 120 abortions a year to become licensed freestanding surgical outpatient facilities.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights group that opposed the measure, said it could force many existing abortion providers in the state to either tear down their offices and rebuild from the ground up -- or shutter their practices.

"This bill respects a woman's right to choose while helping protect her health and safety, including making sure a pregnant person is not being coerced into a decision," Snyder said.

Patients must undergo counseling with a health professional to make sure they aren't being forced to get an abortion. But a provision was dropped that would have established penalties for individuals trying to force a woman into getting a so-called "coercive" abortion.

Other provisions deal with disposal of fetal remains and require that a doctor perform a physical exam before prescribing drugs that would induce abortion. The exam could not be performed from a distance through use of a web-based camera, a process known as telemedicine, which critics said would impose a hardship on women in rural areas.

Currently, only 4 of the 32 abortion facilities in Michigan are licensed by the state and, as such, the other 28 are rarely or if ever inspected by the state health bureau for basic sanitary requirements that are expected of other outpatient surgical facilities in Michigan. The passage of House Bill 5711 will ensure abortion facilities in Michigan meet Bureau of Health Systems standards that pertain to disaster and emergency procedures, medication and medical storage requirements, waste disposal requirements, sanitary procedures and other basic patient care requirements and administrative rules . . .

The licensing and inspection component of the legislation was recently found to have overwhelming support, with 85 percent of respondents to a statewide survey of likely voters approving the provision while 76 percent of Democrat pro-choice women approved the measure.

House Bill 5711 is an omnibus bill combining six introduced pro life bills into one large bill (45 pages).

Personally, I am pro-life and against abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the life or health of the mother. At the same time, it is important to respect women's rights and I acknowledge the Supreme Court's decisions on this issue and that it's a federally protected procedure. . . .

HB5711 was introduced earlier this year. In its initial form, it would have significantly impacted women's rights. Now, though, the bill preserves women's rights while also enacting measures to help ensure their health and safety. . . .

Since becoming governor, there is probably no decision that I have struggled with more or that has weighed on me as heavily. Is my analysis perfect? It is not; but it is one person's attempt to carefully balance an explosive and emotional issue in a thoughtful way. . . .

Friday, December 28, 2012

The arrival of atheist John Figdor, a 28-year-old Harvard divinity school graduate, as a part of Stanford's Office of Religious Life, is one in a trend among universities naming "faith-free chaplains," as the growing number of non-religious Americans yearn for a life of meaning, like that of Christian Americans, yet absent God.

"The Rev. Scotty McLennan, Stanford's dean for religious life, [advocated for atheism], largely because Stanford's Memorial Church, the centerpiece of the campus, had been founded on a principle of inclusion."

Hired in July by the Humanist Community at Stanford, a nonprofit group independent of the university, Figdor is one of 18 "professional leaders" at the Office of Religious Life who typically work with sectarian student groups that pay their salaries. A graduate theological degree is required for the job, and the leader is entitled to office space on campus, a parking spot and a Stanford e-mail address. The leaders guide students in whatever way is needed, whether offering advice or organizing events.

"A lot of people go back to religious organizations when they start having children," whether or not they believe in God, because religion offers community, Figdor said. "What I really want to do is create a vibrant, humanist community here in Silicon Valley, where people can find babysitters for their kids and young people can meet each other."

In the suburbs north of Manhattan, Figdor's parents sent him to Sunday school- not for religion, but to gain a moral center, he said. Today, Figdor says that belief in a supreme being isn't a prerequisite to being a moral person.

The “atheist chaplain” is latest example of the ongoing postmodern assault on the meaning of language. When words and terms mean whatever people want, we lose common frames of reference.

Chaplains have always been associated with explicitly religious services or supporting the faith of those whom chaplains serve through prayer, scripture reading, etc. I mean, that function is inherent in the word’s definition. That doesn’t make it “better,” but it means that the counseling, listening, etc. comes from an explicitly religious core.

It is amusing how the irreligious so often seek to coopt religious terminology. But it can also be subversive because words and their accurate meaning are crucial to our ability to communicate.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The National Defense Authorization Act includes the addition of abortion coverage to military health insurance in cases of rape or incest. The Act passed in the House on a vote of 315-107, and in the Senate 81-14. President Obama is expected to sign it into law immediately.Also read the related story:Supreme Court OKs Taxes for Abortion - ObamaCare

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's (D-N.H.) amendment to the defense bill lifts a decades-long ban on abortion coverage for military rape victims. Since 1981, military women have not had the same level of health coverage that civilian employees, Medicaid recipients, and even federal prisoners receive from their government-issued insurance plans. High-profile supporters of the amendment include former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Senate unanimously passed the amendment in early December, but the House version of the defense bill did not include a similar amendment. A bipartisan conference committee that included Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) agreed on Tuesday to include the amendment in the final version of the bill approved by both chambers.

"After three decades of a policy that discriminated against women who put their lives on the line for us, I am so proud that we will finally begin to provide the coverage our servicewomen deserve,” Shaheen said on Dec. 21. “We have heard from so many who have said the same thing: this is an issue of equity. Women in the military should have the same health coverage as the civilians they protect."

Since 1976 Congress has annually attached an amendment to all funding bills banning federal spending on abortions except when the mother’s life was threatened by the pregnancy, named after its initial proponent, Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois. During the Clinton administration, Congressional Democrats forced the rape and incest exemptions into the Hyde amendments and these have remained in place. But they were never added to military appropriation bills until now . . .

Among supporters of the bill was a leading pro-life senator, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. Some pro-life observers were concerned about her support of the bill’s inclusion of funding for military abortions, particularly in light of her previous 100% rating from National Right to Life Committee, and 0% from both Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Ayotte’s compromise on this pro-life issue came in the wake of a call from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to fellow Republicans to play down their beliefs about abortion and life issues.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

America will not see improvement so long as it's politically incorrect to publicly identify the root causes of the nation's social ills: Children raised without their father and/or mother, and absent married parents.

"[In one] neighborhood in Southeast Washington, 1 in 10 children live with both parents, and 84 percent live with only their mother."

In every state, the portion of families where children have two parents, rather than one, has dropped significantly over the past decade. Even as the country added 160,000 families with children, the number of two-parent households decreased by 1.2 million. Fifteen million U.S. children, or 1 in 3, live without a father, and nearly 5 million live without a mother. In 1960, just 11 percent of American children lived in homes without fathers.

The spiral continues each year. Married couples with children have an average income of $80,000, compared with $24,000 for single mothers.

The near-total absence of male role models has ripped a hole the size of half the population in urban areas.

In all but 11 states, most black children do not live with both parents. In every state, 7 in 10 white children do. In all states but Rhode Island and Massachusetts, most Hispanic children do. In Wisconsin, 77 percent of white children and 61 percent of Hispanics live with both parents, compared with more than 25 percent of black children.

The largest geographic area of sustained fatherlessness contains the rural, largely black poor across Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, tributaries of broken homes running 400 miles along the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tenn., where in some neighborhoods 82 percent of children live with their mothers alone, to Baton Rouge, La., in parts of which less than one-fifth of children have both parents at home.

“Father absence on black families has been associated with psychological problems in the child and with a reduction of goal orientation in the mother. For black boys it has been found to be related to juvenile delinquency ... and a tendency toward either poor masculine identification or compensatory masculinity in adolescence. Among black women, father absence during their childhood may increase the likelihood that they will themselves raise children without a husband.”

That passage may sound obvious to some, offensive to others. But the insights are hardly new. They come from a book published in 1974 by University of California Professor David B. Lynn.

When Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick tramped into the minefield of the single-parent debate earlier this month at the DeWitt Rotary Club, County Legislator Linda Ervin reacted. Someone had asked Fitzpatrick about a group of pre-teen boys who allegedly robbed a woman near Le Moyne College recently. “His answer was that if we stop making it easy, with public assistance, for single mothers to have more and more babies, we could solve this problem,” Ervin recalled.

Later, Fitzpatrick told staff writer Rick Moriarty he’s been preaching this message for decades. “Unfortunately, the welfare system is set up to reward irresponsibility,” he said. Children who grow up with little supervision all too easily turn to crime, he said, noting the risk is 90 percent higher than in households with two parents.

A staggering number of African-American children are raised in single parent homes, compared to the rest of America, and the rest of the world. A study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that 25.8 percent of American children are raised by a single parent, a number high above the 14.9 percent average seen in the other 26 countries surveyed. Among African-Americans the rate nearly tripled, with 72 percent of black children relying on a single parent.

No doubt the prevalence of divorce has introduced single-parenthood as common place in the U.S., but the figures are disproportionally high for African-Americans. Reasons for the disparity among blacks could stem from any number of reasons, ranging from the American justice system, to pregnancy among young unmarried couples. In addition to the number of black single parents, almost three in four black children are born outside of marriage. The reality is that recognizing or even curbing the trend does not work to the benefit of young single mothers already raising children.

A professor at the University of Texas has sparked controversy following remarks that black students are failing academically because so many are raised in single parent households.

In an interview with BBC’s Radio 4, law professor Lino Graglia said “I can hardly imagine a less beneficial or more deleterious experience than to be raised by a single parent,” Graglia said. “Usually a female, uneducated and without a lot of money.”

He went onto to say, on average, prospective black college students score 200 points lower than their white counterparts in SAT tests. According to the 82-year-old almost three-quarters of black children are born outside of marriage, which stifles their success.

. . . the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) demanded [Graglia] resign issuing a resolution which stated: ‘Graglia believes that minority students come from a culture of failure.”

Here’s a novel take in the left’s war on Christ and Christmas: a celebration of sinful behavior.

It would be nice if such degraded, filthy attacks on the holiday and Christian values were confined to fixtures of the gay left like Dan Savage and Perez Hilton, But Hollywood liberals like Denis Leary are in the act too, with a book called “Merry F***in’ Christmas.”

The promotional ad begins with the words, “O Come All Ye … Sinful?” as it depicts clips of male strippers and a woman whose nearly bare breasts have to be blurred out, saying, “Let’s get naked.” It features an overweight man stuffing his face with pizza to promote gluttony, two men kissing to promote lust and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to promote wrath.

The channel features shows targeted at a lesbian, “gay,” bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, audience, and features programs like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and movies like “Make the Yuletide Gay.”

The network is also known for producing the “Noah’s Arc” television series, a show about black homosexual men living in Los Angeles.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Bill Adams, the leader of Smyrna Baptist Church, attended the annual Pensacola PRIDE Festival on June 16, 2012 at Seville Square Park where homosexuals celebrated mock weddings, and while standing on the public sidewalk, quietly handing out Christian calendars, the police told Adams to either stop or be arrested, so he quietly left.

Attorneys at the Memphis-based Center for Religious Expression filed the federal suit on behalf of Bill Adams, who presides over the church on Pensacola Boulevard between the Marcus Pointe and Ensley areas.

Pensacola Police Chief Chip Simmons and Lt. Rodney Eagerton are named as defendants.

Adams is asking a judge to rule the officer’s actions were unconstitutional, as they prevented him from exercising his First Amendment rights.

The suit also asks the judge to order the city not to use a “heckler’s veto,” defined as government agencies curtailing free speech in an attempt to prevent outbursts from those who may be offended.

According to the legal action filed in the US district court, Adams and a group from Smyrna Baptist Church went to the Pensacola Pride Festival at Seville Square June 16th to hand out this two-sided calendar showing the church location and containing a religious message.

Adams says someone from the event approached him and told him he could not hand out literature on the sidewalk around the square.

The Pensacola Police were called in and Adams says officers told him that if he didn't move across the street [to where there were no people] he would be arrested.

[The lawsuit is] seeking relief from a policy that allows groups who obtain Special Event permits for Seville Square Park to squelch disfavored speech in the park and on bordering sidewalks. . . .

Though the Festival in the Park event was free and open to the public, and the bordering sidewalks remained public thoroughfares throughout the event, Pastor Adams was not allowed to hand out calendars with an evangelistic message on the back. CRE wrote a letter to various city officials on June 22, 2012, requesting relief from the ban, so Pastor Adams could return to the sidewalk and share his views during the 2013 Festival in the Park, but no official responded to his plea.

[CRE Chief Counsel Nate] Kellum emphasized the benign nature of Pastor Adam’s speech. “Pastor Adams was not there to protest or denigrate anyone. He only sought to engage in friendly discussion, while handing out free calendars and sharing his faith. His opinion cannot be banished from a public domain just because someone happens to disagree with it.”

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Christian Critzer, who is a tree farmer in Waynesboro, Virginia, was giving away Christmas trees in favor of donations for the Martha Jefferson Hospital Cancer Center Foundation in Charlottesville. However, the city classified his good-deeds operation as a for-profit retail business and promptly shut him down for a zoning violation.

“This year has certainly been plagued with its fair share of Scrooges and Grinches disguised as government agents . . . It’s our hope that Waynesboro officials will focus on solving the many real and pressing problems plaguing their community rather than creating problems where there are none.”-- John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, representing Christian Critzer

“He is breaking the law,” Councilor Frank Lucente said. “We have laws. You cannot run businesses in neighborhoods. When you start interpreting the law, where does it stop? It’s against the law to set up a business in a residential neighborhood ... You have to have laws to regulate things ... It’s against the law to do it. End of story.”

Critzer aimed to accumulate funds that would be used for custom wigs for those battling cancer. His wife is a breast cancer survivor, and he wanted to “demonstrate the spirit of Christmas,” while also providing trees to low-income families.

“The laws that they said I was breaking, I wasn’t,” Critzer said. “It’s as simple as that … I grew up in the neighborhood when it was farm and fields. Saying that my yard is any type of a business ... I was just running a charity, not a business. I think I’m getting picked on. It’s time sensitive, selling Christmas trees. This was my last weekend to sell. I didn’t meet my goal. I will meet it, someway. I will have a Christmas tree charity somewhere in town. I’m not going to stop doing this. It’s ridiculous. I hope that I can do it here. Nobody really has a problem with it.”

You can hold as many unregulated yard sales as you want in Waynesboro. Try to raise money for cancer patients by selling Christmas trees in a quasi-residential area, though, and the long arm of the zoning law will come down on you.

The city responded in Scrooge fashion. On Nov. 26, a zoning official issued a citation to Critzer for running a retail business in a residential area. Critzer responded by deciding to give away the trees for free while also accepting donations to be sent to the hospital foundation, but the city demanded an end to that activity as well.

The Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute has come to Critzer’s defense, pointing out that Critzer’s tree giveaway cannot be considered a retail activity as the proceeds are intended for charity.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Pope is ramping up his continual condemnation of homosexual behavior, as he now calls on all people who call themselves Christian, plus those of non-Christian religions, to form an alliance against same-sex marriage. His Vatican Christmas address described the traditional family as “the authentic setting in which to hand on the blueprint of human existence. . . . There is no denying the crisis that threatens [the family] to its foundations – especially in the Western world.”

"When freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God."-- Pope Benedict XVI

The pope pressed his opposition to same-sex marriage Friday, denouncing what he described as people manipulating their God-given identities to suit their sexual choices — and destroying the very "essence of the human creature" in the process.

"People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being," he said. "They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves."

Church teaching holds that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered," though it stresses that gays should be treated with compassion and dignity.

The Vatican has gone on the offensive in response to gains for gay marriage in the United States and Europe, using every possible opportunity to denounce it through papal speeches or editorials in its newspaper or on its radio station.

The "pre-ordained duality of man and woman" had to be respected, [the Pope] said, if families and children were not to lose their place and dignity.

In some countries, the Catholic Church has already joined forces with Jews, Muslims and members of other religions to oppose the legalization of gay marriage, in some cases presenting arguments based on legal, social and anthropological analyses rather than religious teachings.

In November, Spain's highest court . . . upheld a gay marriage law, and in France the socialist government has unveiled a draft law that would allow gay marriage.

The Pope’s discussion of family—which was almost universally reported in the secular media as an argument against same-sex marriage, although the Pontiff never specifically mentioned that issue—was part of a lengthy address in which Benedict XVI also summarized the major events of the year for his pontificate, and spoke at length about the Church’s interaction with other faiths and with society at large.

. . . Turning next to general themes of the pontificate, the Pontiff spoke first about the family. . . . The first threat to family and marriage is the “refusal to make any commitment,” he observed.

However, the Pope continued, it is clear that “the attack we are currently experiencing on the true structure of the family, made up of father, mother, and child, goes much deeper.” Citing a study by the Chief Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, he said that “gender ideology” undermines the fundamental understanding of what it means to be a human . . .

God created male and female, the Pope observed. “Man calls his nature into question,” he said, when he questions that fundamental concept of sexuality. Moreover, the Pope continued, because the “gender ideology” seeks to make every individual completely autonomous, it destroys the understanding of the family as a community designed for the rearing of children. Again citing Rabbi Bernheim, the Holy Father said that in this radical new understanding of sexuality, children lose their own rights because “the child has become an object to which people have a right and which they have a right to obtain.”

For weeks I have experienced Christians walking around looking, acting and speaking like forlorn warriors. . . . For some, there is residual depression over the implications of elections past. It is time to acknowledge that the collapse of Western civilization will not be remedied by political movements alone. They are inadequate for the task. However, we cannot retreat from the culture. Part of our mission is to walk into the culture, filled with the love of God, equipped with the splendor of truth, and continue the work entrusted to us as Catholic Christians. We have been given a gift meant for the whole world.

. . . We need to simply acknowledge that we live in a declining western culture which is increasingly hostile to the Church. Our struggle involves a clash of worldviews, personal and corporate, and competing definitions of human freedom, human dignity, and human flourishing.

Crippled by the culture of death and indoctrinated by what Pope Benedict XVI called a "Dictatorship of Relativism", the West has been seduced by the siren song of evil. It is deluded by the lies mouthed by a movement which purports to be progressive when it is regressive. In addition, evil runs rampant in our midst.

While 53% support gay marriage, 46% oppose it. A third would go further: They say gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults should be illegal.

The question of adoption by gay men and lesbians has shown the biggest gains in recent decades. By 61%-36%, those surveyed say gay men and lesbians should have a right to adopt children, more than double the support it had 18 years ago.

However, a majority of Americans, 52%-42%, say the Boy Scouts of America shouldn't allow openly gay adults to serve as troop leaders.

Americans are now inclined to say that being gay is something a person is born with [-- NOT!]. Surveys in the 1970s and 1980s showed the public overwhelmingly attributing homosexuality to upbringing or environment.

Respondents were asked: “Do you think the Boy Scouts of America should or should not allow openly gay adults to serve as Boy Scout leaders?”

"It is gratifying to see that a majority of Americans, by a clear margin, support the rights of a private organization such as the Boy Scouts to set its own standards for membership and leadership," [Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council] told CNSNews.com.

"Most Americans harbor no ill will toward people with same-sex attractions. But at the same time, they respect the right of parents to be the first to introduce the controversial topic of sexual orientation to their children," Sprigg said.

There were some partisan differences. Democrats were most favorable to the gay rights position with 60 percent saying gays should be allowed to serve as Boy Scout leaders and 75 percent saying gays and lesbians should be allowed to adopt. Republicans were the most opposed -- 26 percent would allow gay Boy Scout leaders and 46 percent support adoption rights for homosexuals. Independents were in the middle with a majority, 61 percent, supporting adoption rights, and a minority, 40 percent, supporting Boy Scout leadership.

Last July, the Boy Scouts of America announced that, after a two-year review, it would continue its policy of not allowing gays to become members, volunteers or leaders.

The poll showed stronger support for two other rights -- inheritance and health insurance. Seventy-eight percent support inheritance rights and 77 percent support health insurance benefits for gay and lesbian domestic partners or spouses. Though Republicans were the least supportive of these rights, a majority, 68 percent and 61 percent, respectively, supported them.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

The decline in marriage rates and resulting childhood circumstances is a major factor in the instability of America's middle class, says "State of our Unions: Marriage in America," a report from the National Marriage Project and the Institute for American Values.

The disappearance of marriage in “middle America” is tracking with the disappearance of the middle class in the same communities, and “strikes at the very heart of the American Dream,” scholars Elizabeth Marquardt, David Blankenhorn, Robert I. Lerman, Linda Malone-Colon and W. Bradford Wilcox said in a paper released Sunday.

They offer 10 recommendations to President Obama and other policymakers to renew a marriage culture.

The 10 recommendations include ending tax penalties for married couples, investing in relationship-skills education and premarital education for persons seeking to form stepfamilies, divorce reform, and tripling the tax credit for minor children.

A companion report, “Social Indicators of Marital Health and Well-Being,” showed that U.S. high school students continue to have high aspirations for marriage: Eighty percent of high school girls and 72 percent of high school boys said having a good marriage and family life is “extremely important,” according to Monitoring the Future surveys from 2007 to 2010.

The study showed that of the children that were born from adults representing "middle-America," 44 percent were born outside of marriage. That rate has been steadily increasing since the 1980s when the percentage of children born out of wedlock was only 13 percent.

Research suggests the rise in cohabitating individuals has a direct correlation to the increase in children being born out of marriage as the attitude towards the role of marriage, as a structure for raising children has changed.

70 percent of high school dropouts were found to be cohabitating as compared with only 50 percent of college graduates. Cohabitating couples were also more likely to be from the lower bracket of economic placement.

The authors of the report gave a bleak outlook for marriage in the future as the meaning of marriage among younger generations has changed from solely being used as a structure in which to raise children to that of an institution seen to be partially self-servant.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Hope Christian School in Albuquerque chose not to enroll a 3-year-old to preschool because the two male "parents" exhibit an anti-Christian lifestyle. In response, Joseph Romero and John Keelin have filed a lawsuit in Bernalillo County Court to force admittance for their child. No doubt, if they win, they will then sue the school a second time for teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that attorney Shane Youtz said a couple he represents received a letter from Hope Christian school saying their three-year-old son would not be able to enroll because of his parents' sexual orientation.

Youtz said the move is a violation of the New Mexico Human Rights Act. An official from Hope Christian - which received $61,455 in public, federal funding for the current budget year - declined to comment.

"[Joseph Romero and John Keelin] were even told that a new student packet has been prepared for [the child] and that the school was expecting to get acceptance letters out the following week," the complaint states. "However, shortly after learning this information, plaintiffs received a denial letter on April 16, 2010.

"Upon a further inquiry, the school sent a letter dated June 13, 2012 to plaintiffs' attorney. The letter indicated that the school denied admission to plaintiffs' son because plaintiffs were a same gender couple and that, as a result, their home was inconsistent with the school's beliefs."

They seek equitable relief, including their son's acceptance into the school, and compensatory and punitive damages.

Members of the Coalition for Student Justice and Get Equal New Mexico started the petition asking congressmen to look into why the school qualifies for federal tax dollars when they won't let a 3-year-old enroll because his parents are gay.

"They're open to everybody, apparently, except children of gay parents," Youtz said. "Religious organizations can't discriminate based upon sexual orientation if they're operating as 501c3 corporations."

Youtz believes the school is a nonprofit, but the school's attorney said they're a private school and stand by their letter to the parents, saying the school trusts that individuals would equally respect its right to its religious beliefs.

Simonson also said he does not believe Hope should receive public money, contending that the funding violates the establishment clause in the Bill of Rights. That clause is the basis for the separation of church and state.

But under federal guidelines, the school is eligible for public dollars.

The school receives federal funding under Title II, which is earmarked for teacher training. Don Moya, chief financial officer of Albuquerque Public Schools, said APS staff looked into the federal funding as soon as they heard about the alleged discrimination.

Al Sanchez, director of grant management at APS, said he believes the school has not done anything to disqualify it from receiving the funds. To lose the funds, the school would have to fail to comply with specific conditions of the Title II money, like failing to equitably train teachers.

It also outlined that the arrangement would be a difficult educational relationship, as the two entities would be directly at odds, pointing to Amos 3:3, which states, “How can two walk together unless they be agreed?”

Hope Christian School’s website outlines that “[a]dmission is open to students of any race, color, or ethnic origin who are looking for a Christian environment with an emphasis on teaching Biblical principles and truths along with strong academics.”

Hope Christian School is being represented by attorneys from Roanoke, Virginia. According to the school’s website, the institution has been “commended as one of the largest and overall best Christian schools in the USA.”

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Alex Apostle, superintendent of the Missoula County Montana Public Schools, received an anonymous letter complaining that the Christmas concert at Chief Charlo Elementary School is unfair, unconstitutional and is a form of bullying because songs include Jesus Christ.

“With many of the children in our neighborhood up here being Jewish and Buddhist, as well as a few Muslim and atheist students, we were assured that this year it would be a secular program,” said the letter, which was signed by “concerned parents” but listed no individual names.

“One of the largest complaints last year were the young children singing about ‘their lord.’ This was concerning to many families and it was clear that several of the students were uncomfortable.”

The letter went on to say: “We have no problem with it being called a Christmas concert, it’s just the fact the material should be secular. Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. These are things that offend no one, but when the children are singing about their lord and savior, Jesus Christ ... public school is not the place.”

When contacted for more information about the matter, two of the concerned parents said they did not want to publicly share their names, as they were concerned about their children and families being further ostracized or singled out.

During the morning concert, in which the K-3 classes sang, the song lineup was as follows: “Joy to the World,” “Up On a House Top,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” “O Christmas Tree,” “O Come Little Children,” “Deck the Halls,” a Polish lullaby ( the words of which are sung to baby Jesus), a Hanukkah song, a pinata song, a Nutcracker rhythm piece, concluding with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

The afternoon programming, which the grade 4-5 classes performed included: “Season of Bells,” “Dreidel Spins,” “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” “Merry Merry,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” concluding with “Go in Peace.”

Monday, December 17, 2012

In an overt attempt to buy votes, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is urging the Republican Party to shift its platform toward that of the Democrat Party on many issues, including the uncontrolled distribution of birth control pills, in opposition to his own Roman Catholic Church. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Jindal wrote that it was "stupid" for the GOP to be viewed as against contraceptives when it opposed ObamaCare's attacks on religious liberty.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is calling for over-the-counter, oral contraception sales, arguing that such a move would take a potent political issue away from Democrats.

Republican objections to mandatory birth control coverage in health insurance coverage were a major part of Democratic messaging toward women in the 2012 election cycle. Republicans wanted an exemption to the mandate for religious organizations. Jindal argues over-the-counter sales to those over 18 years of age would make this debate irrelevant.

As head of the Republican Governors Association and a potential 2016 presidential candidate, Jindal has been working to position himself as a thought leader within the GOP.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists announced its support last month for selling oral contraceptives over the counter without a prescription in the United States. I agree with this opinion, which if embraced by the federal government would take contraception out of the political arena.

As a conservative Republican, I believe that we have been stupid to let the Democrats demagogue the contraceptives issue and pretend, during debates about health-care insurance, that Republicans are somehow against birth control. It's a disingenuous political argument they make.

Democrats have wrongly accused Republicans of being against birth control and against allowing people to use it. That's hogwash. But Republicans do want to protect those who have religious beliefs that are opposed to contraception. The latest opinion from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is a common-sense call for reform that could yield a result everyone can embrace: the end of birth-control politics.

"This is a political calculation on the governor's part that Republicans have a problem with women in general and with unmarried women in particular. A majority of women voted for Obama in the last election," said UNO political scientist Ed Chervenak.

Dr. Chervenak said Jindal's position may rub some people the wrong way in his own political party. "Certainly he's going to get some opposition and some push back on this issue," Chervenak further stated.

But he said Jindal is looking down the road, politically. "The sense is that he is going to run in 2016, so he's positioning himself, trying to broaden republican appeal beyond its base right now," Chervenak said.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

The Phillipsburg School District board is contemplating the retribution for substitute teacher Walter Tutka responding to an out-of-classroom question by a student about a Bible verse by giving the student a Bible. Local citizens have flooded the school board with support for Tutka's reasoned and caring conduct.

Walter Tutka, of Belvidere, received a letter -- obtained by The Express-Times -- from Phillipsburg Superintendent George Chando last week recommending a 90-day suspension for allegedly giving a student his personal copy of the New Testament during lunch on Oct. 12 at the middle school. The suspension would be effective Oct. 15 2012 until Jan 15, 2013, according to the letter.

The letter states Tutka broke two district polices. One prohibits staff from distributing religious literature on school grounds. The other states if religious material is discussed that staff “be neutral in their approach and avoid using them to advance or inhibit religion in any way.”

The incident began at the beginning of the school year when Tutka, while holding the door for students, told the last student, “Just remember the first will be last and the last will be first.”

Tutka said at last month’s school board meeting that the student had approached him seven different times about the Bible passage when he subbed in the district, until he finally gave the student his Bible. He doesn't know who notified the district, but the Bible was returned to him following the incident.

People spoke out for Tutka at a recent school board meeting, saying that the Bible was a gift for the student, and the teacher had remained neutral. Four speakers read a statement noting that school libraries contain more than 100 books about religion including, "Bible Stories for Pleasure Reading," "A Biblical Garden," "The Story of Christmas," and "Chicken Soup for the Christian Teenage Soul.”

[Supt.] Chando has confirmed that the Bible is carried in district libraries.

Speaking about how his case might be decided, Tutka said, according to WFMZ-TV, "I think it's going to turn out to be on the positive end. After all, it is Christmas."

During the public comment period [at the school board meeting], four area residents read a prepared statement that outlined why they believed Tutka had done no wrong. . . . Wayne Duryea, one of the commenters, added that the district isn’t necessarily neutral in its actions toward religion either.

“He was about as neutral as the district giving a young Muslim student in the high school the ability to change his schedule so he can come to school on a Friday, stay until noon so he is not marked as missing the day … and then being released so his parents can drive the hour and a half it takes them to reach their mosque so they can fulfill their Friday worship obligations,” Duryea said.

School board president Kevin DeGerolamo told reporters last night after the meeting that “it’s possible” that Tutka will still face disciplinary action even though the vote did not go forward as scheduled. The next board meeting is set for January 7th

"We know as a teacher that you are never to cross that line about talking about the Bible in school," said school board member Rosemarie Person, who is a teacher herself. Person stated she was required to attend a workshop on how to not make statements that would get her into trouble as an unbiased educator.

"You can tell them where to go reference that quote that you gave without handing them the tool itself," suggested board president Kevin J. DeGerolamo, who disapproved of Tutka's approach.

Tutka, who is a retiree of an electric company, has been substituting since January in seven different schools. Out of 80 days substituting last year, Tutka stated 49 days were in the Phillipsburg district and this year, out of 30 days, 28 had been in Phillipsburg so far this year.